History

Robert College School of Engineering was inaugurated in 1912, with civil engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering as the three areas of instruction. Since then, the civil engineering program has continuously evolved to better address the needs of the students and the profession while remaining true to its founding principles. Robert College was transformed into Boğaziçi University in 1971, leading to significant expansion in the following decades. Currently the Department of Civil Engineering offers PhD and MS programs in addition to its undergraduate program. Around 50 new students are admitted to the undergraduate program every year, and a total of 18 full-time faculty members oversee the curriculum. The undergraduate program is accredited by ABET.

The Department of Civil Engineering prides itself on having hosted many world class faculty (inlcuding Karl Terzaghi, the founder of modern soil mechanics) and on having produced many graduates who have excelled both in the industry and in the academia. Various faculty members have served high level administrative duties in the University, with Vedat Yerlici as the first elected Dean of the School of Engineering, and Semih Tezcan and Ergün Toğrol as Rectors. Faculty members who have served as the Department Chair in the past include Şahap Yalçın, Ergün Toğrol, Gülay Altay, Turan Özturan, Gökhan Baykal, Gökmen Ergün, and Erol Güler.

The undergraduate curriculum comprises courses striving to establish strong theoretical foundations as well as courses that address most recent technological and managerial advances. Our graduates are proficient in both the technical and the social aspects of the engineering profession, and they pursue careers in diverse sectors with many of them pursuing higher educational degrees.